Seems to me, the MDs are fighting over money and the Nurses are fighting over patient outcomes. It's clear which one is valued in our current delivery system.
Exactly. I think we all need to realize that nurse/doctor/NP relations directly impact the quality and efficiency of our patient care. There is no true teamwork until we understand and respect each other's positions in providing that care.
PM,GN.. Unfortunately, MDs and NPs are having to fight over money. Not against each other but with the insurance companies. It's the insurance companies, who dictate how much you can charge for a visit, that make it hard for everyone. If your malpractice insurance takes up a 1/3 of your income, it has to come from somewhere. That's what makes the numbers important. We all truly want the same things (great pt outcomes) because it's the right thing to do but we have to see more and more pts to do it.
Diana, I think you hit it on the head there. Teamwork is the key. We need to work together and no against each other to improve efficiency and great patient outcomes. Thanks for the idea!
Thanks for this great post. We were just talking about this topic today.
I'm new at my place, but I've noticed that the relations between docs and nurses is very adversarial. Part of the problem is that the docs leave the nurses out and then write orders or the docs give you verbal orders and tell you they will write orders (we're not supposed to do verbals) and they don't.
Communications is one of the most important things I see dealing with docs and other team members. Nurses are often short shrifted because we are on 24/7. Therapists go home at 5, docs go home and are occasionally on call, so it makes things really difficult for them to understand what they need to do to get a message to everyone, when we're busy taking care of the patients.
We also were supposed to have the policy of no verbal orders. The docs got upset when things weren't being done and kept saying that they "told the nurse". We kept explaining that an order is no longer valid unless it's written and reminded them the safety issues involving verbals. They soon got the hint and started writing their orders or calling them in.
Unfortunately, as this entry so eloquently illustrates, many of our nursing leaders were educated at a time when nurses were handmaidens for doctors. When our local community college was hosting their first "You Can Be A Nurse: Teddy Bear Clinic" designed for student nurses to educate young children about nursing, the college had cute little paper nurse caps for each child to wear. The nursomg director and one of the instructors were seen giving "doctor hats/scrub caps" to the little boys instead of "nurse hats." Go figure.
Sharon, it still amazes me the amount of sexism that exists in the medical profession. We still assume that girls will be nurses and boys will be doctors. I try to make my presence known in my son's school and ask the children what they will be when they grow up. I'm quick to point out that it's an equal opportunity profession!
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